Preeeetty sure these little trolls came alive last night and were walking around my condo. I thought I heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet going up and down the stairs…
Wait — I guess that could have been Tabs. 🙂
Who knows? Right now, though, it’s time to relive one of my greatest childhood fears.
THE TROLL DOLLS.
Did anyone else find them terrifying back in the day? There’s just something…eery about those big eyes and that crazy hair, or the fact that they were always butt neked.
I dunno…
But enough about that! Let’s take a look at the MAC Good Luck Trolls collection.
Arriving July 28 to the MAC website and coming to stores and counters August 4 through September 15, it might seem a little out of character for MAC to collaborate with these mythical, cave-dwelling beings of Scandinavian folklore…or it might not! The brand does have a reputation for doing crazy sh*t.
Aaand there’s also a Trolls movie coming out in November.
It’s a 22-piece collection with five Eye Shadows ($17 each), two Beauty Powders ($27 each), four Lipsticks ($18 each), four Lipglasses ($16 each), one pigment ($23), three glitters ($23 each), a Duo Fibre Face Brush ($32) and these two crazy temporary hairspray color thing-a-ma-bobbers called the Chroma Crazes ($20 each).
I feel like MAC misses opportunties sometimes with some of their limited edition collaborative collections, like the MAC Miss Piggy one (it could have been so much more!), but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this one accurately captures the trolls in all their whimsical cheekiness.
So, um, with these colors…first of all, I think it’s important to remember that this is a collection about colorful trolls with gemstones in their bellies. So it’s not a collection about conservative, traditionally pretty, pretty makeup.
I think the pieces are pretty in their own way, but many are also outrageous and playful. If you remember the MAC Playland collection from a couple years ago, it had some CRAZY colors and pastels. Well, Good Luck Trolls is very much along those same lines. We have corals, chartreuses, hot pinks and blues.
There’s a blue lipstick, a blue eyeshadow, a blue lipgloss, a blue temporary hair coloring spray… I’m usually more drawn to neutrals, but for some reason I’m drawn to these blues. They’re BEAUTIFUL.
Especially the matte blue eyeshadow, Atlantic Blue. Unlike many mattes that are too sheer or chalky and difficult to blend, Atlantic Blue packs a whollop! One or two layers, and it’s visible and vibrant.
As for the blue lipstick…I have no idea where I’d wear it, but if I was an 18-year-old whose cup runneth over with tough girl swagger, I would rock it HARD.
It’s opaque and also matte. And, weirdly enough, because it is matte, I think it’s more wearable than it would be if it shimmered. Two or three swipes completely covers my lips with opaque color.
Oh! — I just remembered a really great tip from MBB reader Rachel R (hey, Rachel!). If you love cuckoo crazy colors like this blue but have trouble with your lipstick going beyond your natural lip line when you apply them straight from the tube, look for a matching eyeliner, and use it as a lip liner (since, hello, it’s not easy to find blue lip liner). Trace around the edges of your lips with it to keep your lipstick in place.
There’s also a blue Lipglass in the collection called Twerkquoise (Funny name! I want to get another cat now just so I can name her Twerquoise…), which is very sheer. I can see the blue right after I put it on my lips, but it mellows out and looks more like a neutral after a minute or two.
I also put Twerkquoise on top of the blue lipstick, just for fun, and it gave it a purple tint. Weird!
One more thing of note that I really like in this collection is the Beauty Powder in Glow Rida.
Holy crap!
So, um, this is probably the most “normal” thing in the collection…which is probably why I like it, haha. It’s a gorgeous beige with extra fine golden shimmer, and it looks SO pretty, ethereal and heavenly down the bridge of the nose and atop the cheekbones as a soft, glowing highlighter (like one of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders, but even finer).
It sort of balances out all of the craziness happening elsewhere in the collection.
Now about those hair color sprays…
OK, I’m really scared to try them because I used a temporary hair spray color once and ended up with a pink spot that never quite went away. But we’re gonna do it for the sake of experimentation!
Oh, gosh…wish me luck! *spray, spray* Uh, oh. I just sprayed it on the wall.
WHOOPS! Now I sprayed it on my sleeve.
OK, just be really careful with it.
It actually shows up. Kinda… I have really dark hair, and tinted products don’t always show up well on it, so that’s something.
I think I’d need half the bottle to REALLY get it to show up, but if you have lighter hair, it should make a bigger impact.
Gosh, I can’t wait until Connor is older and I can rope her into fun experiments (her hair is lighter like her dad’s)!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. What’s your stance on trolls? Cute or terrifying?
Michelle says
July 14th, 2016 at 12:08 pmI love this post and this collection seems absolutely amazing! Also, your pictures are of such great quality, what camera do you use? I just started my new blog a while ago and I want high quality pics as well! Thanks in advance love, keep up the great work! x
Karen says
July 14th, 2016 at 12:29 pmHi Michelle,
I shoot with several different cameras, and these pics were taken with a Canon 70D.
Lauren says
July 14th, 2016 at 12:45 pmOMG TROLL DOLLS!!!! You just brought me back to my childhood!! I don’t know why i looooved these dolls back in the day! Now when I see them, I think of serious gamblers in Vegas that have them lined up on their slot machines! I do need some of this collection just for the packaging! Maybe I can sneak into the movie too if I can be guaranteed not to be recognized! ?
Karen says
July 14th, 2016 at 2:19 pmOK, when you mentioned the gamblers in Vegas I started cracking up. I’ve seen that same scenario many, many times, LOL! Also at church bingo. The hard core bingo ladies always had trolls!
Did you ever collect the trolls? What ever happened to them?
Carolina Braina says
July 14th, 2016 at 1:08 pmI actually used to like troll dolls as a kid… I wonder why, though. They’re pretty ugly and creepy.
Have you seen the recent video Lisa Eldridge made with Jen Atkin? She’s wearing a dark blue lipstick and I love it. It’s one of Kylie’s lip kits, though, and I vowed I wouldn’t get any of those… So I’m looking for a dupe!
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Karen says
July 14th, 2016 at 2:18 pmDid you collect them? I would get really freaked out when I saw a bunch of them all together. Still do, LOL! I haven’t seen the video with Lisa but I’m sure she looks great because she always finds a way to make anything look chic.
Carolina Braina says
July 14th, 2016 at 2:50 pmExactly, she looked super chic!
I hade a few but didn’t really collect them. I think someone gave them to me…
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Amy says
July 14th, 2016 at 2:09 pmTroll dolls: neither creepy nor cute. Just…weird. Unless you’re Scandinavian or German, then I guess the concept and history are part of your cultural heritage? My son and I did get a total kick out of the movie “Gnomeo and Juliet.” You’ve got to see it!!
Blue lipstick: I’d also totally rock this in a different context than I now live in (and no complaints about that). Will appreciate it on others, or on myself at Halloween. The glitter eye stuff is cute! I’m always suspicious of movie marketing products, though. But I guess if you’re gonna do it, do it right, huh?!
Karen says
July 14th, 2016 at 2:17 pmHi Amy,
How crazy is that blue lipstick? I like that it has a bit of edge.
Oh, and the title to that movie is hilarious. I’ll put that one on my list. 🙂
I hope you, your son and your hubby are having a great summer so far. Do you guys have any trips lined up?
Rachel R. says
July 14th, 2016 at 3:37 pmI always thought troll dolls were just plain ugly.
I love the blue lipstick on you! And thanks for the shout-out. 🙂
Karen says
July 14th, 2016 at 4:32 pmThank you for the great tip! Seriously, it’s life-changing. 🙂
Chris25 says
July 14th, 2016 at 4:25 pmI think the blue lipstick is my fave.
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Christina Tran says
July 14th, 2016 at 4:41 pmYup, I never liked trolls either. It’s their hair, all crazy and wild. Haha! And I couldn’t get past their…unusual…facial features. LOL!
Karen says
July 14th, 2016 at 6:26 pmYeah! SO SCARY!
Leah Rose says
July 14th, 2016 at 4:43 pmYou actually managed to pull off the blue pretty well! I don’t know if I would wear many of these products but the packaging is super cute.
Savannah says
July 14th, 2016 at 5:21 pmLol, my great aunt always had so many of these and she would constantly be giving them to me. She was also big on the bingo scene. That blue lipstick actually looks really great on you, and I’d totally rock it for Halloween or a party.
Karen says
July 14th, 2016 at 6:26 pmTrolls are MAJOR in the bingo world, it seems, haha!
And thanks for saying that about the blue… I feel like I look insane.
Happy (almost) Friday!
Becky says
July 15th, 2016 at 12:24 amI am completely freaked out by Trolls. You’d just find them lying around (my sister collected them) with their bare wee butts and freaky glassy eyes staring at you from the shelf/drawer/plant pot.. Euuuggghhh!
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Karen says
July 15th, 2016 at 9:55 amThe scariest ones have the jewels in their bellies, OMG!
Kiss & Make-up says
July 15th, 2016 at 10:31 amIt’s definitely a fun and unusual collection! But whether it’s for me… hmmmmmmIdunno, still undecided.
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Tatiana says
July 15th, 2016 at 10:32 amTrolls are major creepy! That said, I will want to take a peek at Paradisco when it come out. Also those beauty powders look really nice. Will have to try both to see which one plays better with my fair neutral skin.
Kim says
July 15th, 2016 at 11:17 amYes, totally with you on the unappealing nature of those Lucky Trolls! Though I get more of a Heebie Jeebie vibe from them. HAHA! I agree that the makeup seems to fit the theme but you’re not fooling anyone – we all know how you love/rock the blues – at least in eye makeup. 🙂 I’m certainly not judging your pajamarama photo – your jammies are fancier than my t-shirt!
Gina B. says
July 16th, 2016 at 4:52 amEEEGADS!! I wish I had the money that they wasted on this collection!!! Goodness what a waste! Love your post, that was adorbs – but blue lipstick? Really? I mean even for a 16-17 year old, it’s down right gross! Halloween maybe?
My favorite thing with the trolls was fixing their hair!! I love putting them in cute little buns, or braiding their hair!!! I guess I never saw them as scary – but they could be, I suppose.
Conner Claire is so precious Karen, I cannot express how it delights my heart to see her grow!!! What a little angel…. you are so blessed girl, and I’m so happy for you and el hub!!
God’s grace and peace to you and yours!!!
Gina
HappyCat says
July 27th, 2016 at 11:01 pmDo the troll dolls come with the makeup?
Karen says
July 28th, 2016 at 9:15 amHey HappyCat,
No, they don’t! I put them there for decoration.